


Learning To Breathe

by SansTheBee



Category: Back to the Future (Cartoon), Back to the Future (Movies), Back to the Future: The Game
Genre: Adoption, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Mixed Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-17 09:16:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8138753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansTheBee/pseuds/SansTheBee
Summary: A mix between the movies, game, and cartoon verses. AU to the episode "Go Fly A Kite". Turns out Verne really is a Tannen, but his mother is a Miskin.





	1. It's My Family Too Isn't it?

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully starting this story now will help me get over the writer's block I'm having with The Ninja Companion Prologue 1. This is an AU idea that's been in my head for a while. It's mainly based around the episode Go Fly a Kite Which is my favorite episode of the cartoon. I don't want it to be seen as a fix fic though, but rather an AU. It also retcons A Verne By Any Other Name, which is actually my second favorite episode. For reference this is how I chronologically place things: The movies happened first, the game, and the cartoon. I know the cartoon and game have been stated to be non canon by Bob Gale, but I personally see them as canon, and happening in that order. Some chapters, mostly this one, uses dialogue from Go Fly a Kite Which is copyrighted by Universal Cartoon Studios. (Which apparently is the first thing made by that subsidiary of Universal. What a honor for them, getting to make such an amazing show! Then they went on to make my favorite Universal film Balto II: Wolf Quest.) I hope you enjoy!

Jules Eratosthenes Brown and his younger brother Verne Newton Brown, were both playing a board game. Verne grinned cheekily as he grabbed the dice and rolled them onto the game board. He proclaimed, “Box cars! All right!”, before turning to his brother and adding, “I'm baking your beans now, Mr. Wizard!”

 

His character landed on a question mark square which glowed a few times before a hologram of Biff Tannen appeared, telling him, “Bonehead move, butthead!”

 

“Bummer!” Verne said, partly upset, partly annoyed. His character fell through a trap door in the square and a loud buzzing was heard, signifying the end of the game.

 

“To no one's surprise you have been defeated once again.” Jules said, walking over to a small chalkboard and putting another line by his name. “My calculations indicate that you, the loser, must now take out the garbage for the next 753 weeks.”

 

“Rats! Rats! Double Rats! How come you always win!?” Verne yelled, stomping on the ground.

 

“Face it, Verne.” Jules said as he started to fold up the game board, “You lack the basic intellectual skills one would naturally expect in a member of the Brown lineage. You show no aptitude for science whatsoever. You fail to resemble mother, father, or myself in any of the primary phrenological specifications, and as a capper, father has failed to provide you with your own personal hoverboard.” He walked over to his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. “The conclusion should be obvious, even to you Verne. You're adopted.”

 

Those words made Verne angry. “Take that back or I'll punch you out!”

 

Jules put his palm against his brother's forehead, avoiding said 'punch out'. “You and what body of organized servicemen?”

 

Suddenly a helicopter speaker of their father's invention flew into the room. From it their mother Clara spoke, “Jules! Verne! Hush up your caterwauling and come to supper!”

 

“Ah, that would be my biological mother.” Jules said. “Would you care to join _my_ family for dinner?”

 

“It's my family too!” Verne said, starting to get more annoyed by Jules' teasing.

 

“Really?” Jules asked. “Then why are no baby pictures of you?”

 

“Well I...” Verne paused. Were there baby pictures of him? He'd never seen one.

 

“For all we know, you might even be a Tannen!”

 

Verne felt his blood go cold, before going red faced in anger. He screamed before getting into his bathtub cart and heading to his dad's lab.

 

Doc was telling Einstein all about his new invention that allowed him to take pictures of any famous historical figure.

 

“Dad!” Came a voice from outside.

 

“Yes,Vernie?” Doc asked, still looking at the screen of his invention. Suddenly he straightened up and yelled, “No, Vernie!”

 

Verne's car crashed into Doc, and Verne ended up on top of the flipped vehicle. He grabbed his shirt tightly and bellowed, “What gives pop!? Am I a Tannen!?”

 

Doc stayed silent and stood up, helping Verne to his feet too.  
  
A few moments later he placed his hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you all right son?"  
  
Verne jerked away and demanded, "Am I a Tannen or not!?"  
  
Doc looked away. ".....Yes....You are."  
  
It was Verne's turn to freeze. His breath become heavy and tears filled his eyes.

 

Doc sighed and knelt down to his level. “Vernie, listen-”

 

“M-my mom's a f—filthy Tannen!” Verne cried.

 

“Actually...your father is the one who's a Tannen. Kid Tannen. Your mother is a very lovely woman though. Actually she's Marty's grandmother, Sylvia Miskin-McFly. Back when I knew her she went under the stage name Trixie Trotter. In 1930 she became pregnant with you, and when you were born we saved you from-”

 

A light above Doc's invention flashed. “It looks like dinner's ready.”

 

“I don't care about dinner!” Verne yelled, hitting his foot against the ground. “I want to know about mom!”

 

“I think we should discuss this with your mother, come on.” Doc said, heading towards the house, Einstein following close behind.

 

Verne wiped his eyes and sniffled. He followed Doc for a few steps before stopping. His stomach churned and he realized he couldn't do this. He couldn't stay with them. Slowly he made his way towards the DeLorean and got in. “All right Doctor Brown...I-I'll discuss it with my mother...”

 

Verne changed the year to 1930, and pushed the gas peddle until it hit 88.

 


	2. The Thunder Rolls

As Verne pulled The DeLorean in 1930, rain poured down, splattering off the sides of the car.

  
  


“Great…” Verne sighed. He squinted out the window, but couldn’t make anything out. All there was, was gray. _Maybe I should just stay here until it stops raining._

  
  


Suddenly a loud boom of thunder sounded. _Or not….._ He opened the door and quickly hopped out. Shivering, Verne looked around for a place to take shelter.

  
  


The first place he saw was the Hill Valley Courthouse, which he hurried to. However, before he could open the door he heard something from the other side:

 

“You need to be more focused son!”

  
  


“Yes father….”

  
  


“Your head is always in clouds! This is a serious line of work and expect you-”

 

“Yes, father I understand.”

 

“Don't interrupt me, young man! I know you don't understand at all!”

 

“Please, listen to me, I-”

 

“No, _you_ listen to _me_! I didn't give you a chance to work here so you could mess around with such ridiculous things!”

 

Verne pulled away. _Well, I feel bad for whoever that is..._

 

He looked at the rest of Hill Valley, trying to find a place to go. From there he could see a bookshop. The lights were off inside, and Verne could just barely make out a _Sorry We're Closed!,_ sign. Finally he spotted a small cafe with the lights on. Verne ran over to the cafe, getting soaking wet in the process. The clerk and the customers looked over at Verne as he started to wring his hat out. He sat down and hugged his knees to his chest, shivering a bit.

 

“Hey, kid!” The clerk called. Verne looked up. “Are you here to order something or what?!”

 

“Oh uh...” Verne dug through his pockets looking for any money, but wouldn't find any. With a small sheepish grin he looked the man in the eyes.

  
The man shook his head and sighed in annoyance. “Listen, kid. This is a place of business, I can't just have kids hang out here for free. So either you buy something or get out. Okay?”

  
  


Verne stumbled back, a bit scared by his tone.  
  
"Well, kid?"  
  
Verne gulped and exited the cafe. Thunder rung loudly through the air, causing him to stumble back. Shivering, he looked around. In the distance there was an unmarked white building that looked like it might be pretty dry.  
  
Verne hurried over. Without hesitation he went inside. As he looked around, he noted it didn't look as abandoned as he thought: There were stools lined up against a bar counter, and chairs pushed up to small round tables. Some had decks of cards and poker chips on them. Along the walls were bottles and bottles of liquor.  
  
Figuring this might just be a bar, Verne sat down in one of the chairs and hugged himself to warm up.  
  
"Hello there."  
  
At the sound of the voice, Verne nervously turned around. There stood a young woman in about her late twenties, with blonde hair and beautiful green eyes.  
  
"H-hi..." Verne managed to say.  
  
The woman pulled out a chair and sat beside him. "A speakeasy really isn't a good place for a kid like you to be hanging out."  
  
"A speakeasy?" Verne hadn't heard this word before.  
  
"Yeah, you know. A place that serves alcohol."  
  
Verne furrowed his brows. "You mean like a bar?"  
  
She giggled a bit. “Not really, kid. There haven't been bars for a long time.”

  
  


'Really? How come?”

  
  


The woman blinked in confusion. “Well...alcohol's been illegal since the 20s, kid...”

  
  


“Then why can this place sell it?”  
  
  


She bit her lip and averted her eyes. “This...isn't exactly a legal operation.”

  
  


“Oh.”

  
  


The two stayed silent for a moment. Finally the woman spoke, “So, what's your name, kid?”

  
  


“Verne. You?”

  
  


“I'm Trixie. Trixie Trotter.”

  
  


The widest smile formed on Verne's face. “Mom!” He hugged her tightly and snuggled close. Trixie didn't know how to react at first, but eventually she decided to return the hug.

  
  


“Mom,huh?” She giggled. “That's pretty cute, kid.”

  
  


Verne cuddled as close as possible to his mother. _I can't believe it's her!_ After a few moments he realized something and pulled back. To Trixie's confusion he put his hand on her stomach, then asked, “Are...are you pregnant?”

Trixie stiffened, the air felt dense and hard on her lungs. She looked at Verne with wide eyes. "How did you...?"  
  
"Because I'm your..." Verne stopped himself. "Uh, I mean because, uh, you..look pregnant?"  
  
Trixie rested her head in her hands. "Oh God...If a kid could figure it out, then..." She looked over with sad eyes and pursed lips. "I haven't even told Kid yet. He just thinks I've been gaining weight."  
  
At the mention of a Tannen, Verne felt a shiver of anger rush through him. At the same time his stomach churned at the thought of being a Tannen himself.  
  
"Hey. You okay?"  
  
Verne snapped out of his trance. "Y-yeah I'm fine." The shiver didn't go away.  
  
Trixie stroked her stomach lightly. "I only have five more months to tell him."  
  
Verne frowned,placing his hand on her arm. Outside, thunder roared loudly, causing Verne to jump a bit and latch onto his mom.  
  
"I don't think the storm's gonna stop anytime soon, kid." Trixie said, holding the shaking child close to her chest. "I guess we'll have to spend the night here."  
  
"H-h-here?" Verne squeaked out.  
  
"Aw, it's not so bad kid. I've had to sleep here a few times when the weather was bad." She picked up Verne and headed to the back. On the ground  was and old,worn out, caseless pillow, and an old tattered purple blanket. Trixie put the blanket over both of them, then pulled Verne close.  
  
Verne ignored how itchy the blanket and snuggled against her, smiling. He let out a small yawn and fell asleep, glad to be with his real mother.

  
  


  
  


  
  
  


 

 


	3. Life Starts Now

"Trixie!"  
  
Both she and Verne woke up with a jolt. A man with short black hair, a thin black mustache, and piercing green eyes, was glaring down at them. He reached out and gripped Verne's arm tightly. "Who is this?"  
  
"Kid." Trixie said nervously. "Please he's just a child."  
  
He looked the kid in the eyes. "What's your name?" He asked in a near growl.  
  
"V-V-Verne."  
  
"And what exactly do you think you're doing here?"  
  
"Kid, please!" Trixie begged. "He came here last night when it was raining. H-he didn't even know it was a speakeasy!"  
  
Kid looked at Verne who was shaking quite a bit. Kid sighed in annoyance and put him down. "Just keep him out of the way. All right tutz?"  
  
Trixie relaxed, pulling Verne close to her. "I promise. Thanks."  
  
Kid grumbled a bit as he left. Verne felt sick. _How can he be my dad!? Well...At least he doesn't steal kids like Doctor Brown..._ To comfort himself he snuggled closer to Trixie. "Thanks, mom."  
  
She giggled as she got up. "You're adorable,kid. So, where do you live?"  
  
"I....I don't know."  
  
Trixie looked worried. "Oh...Well, do you know where your parents are?”

 

  
Verne figured, 'My phony parents are in 1991' was not the answer she'd want. Instead he said, "I...I don't know."  
  
"I could take you around town and we could look."  
  
"They don't live here."  
  
Trixie frowned even more and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, kid. I wish I could help.”

 

“It's all right, mom.”

 

She sighed. “I guess if you're all alone, you can stay with me.”

 

Verne's eyes shined and he smiled widely. "Thanks, mom!"  
  
"I need some fresh air, why don't we go outside?"  
  
Verne followed her outside. Everything was shiny and wet from last night's storm. The sunlight shined on the grass, giving it almost a heavenly glow. The town was already buzzing with activity as the two strolled down the sidewalk. People were chatting, and overall enjoying the beautiful morning.  
  
Verne noted how different it was than 1991. In that time people seemed to busy to talk to each other. They all had their own things to do, and were all in a hurry.  
  
"Oh, kid!" Trixie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "We need to stop by my place so I can get changed, all right?"  
  
“Huh? Oh, yeah mom that's fine!”

 

She lead him to a rather shabby looking apartment building. The elevator was shaky the whole way to the second floor, and Verne held onto the bar tightly.

 

Finally it opened it's rickety doors and the two exited into Trixie's apartment. Unlike the rest of the building, this room was very clean and organized. Trixie was trying to live the best life she could here.  
  
'You sit down for a minute while I get changed.' Trixie said, gesturing to a small, two cushioned, worn out, red coach. Verne hopped onto the coach and shuffled until he found a comfortable position to sit.  
  
While his mom was changing, Verne looked around. On the wall young a painting of a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes next to a man with short brown hair and glasses. He guessed these were his grandparents. That or Trixie wore colored contacts. On the coffee table in front of him there were sheets of paper, some crinkled and torn, some smooth and flat.

 

Out of curiosity and boredom he picked one of them up. _Is this a song?/_ " 'Kiss my red, red lips my love' ? Ew, gross!"  
  
As he set it down, Trixie came out in a simple blue dress. "I just realized,kid,I need to get you a place to sleep."  
  
"You're not going to make me sleep on the couch, are ya?" Verne asked nervously.  
  
"Of course not! I'll get something ready for you tonight. So, you ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah!" Verne said excitedly, hopping to his feet. Then his tone became slightly confused. "Where are we going?"  
  
"We need to get you some clothes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Trixie giggled "You can't wear the same clothes every day, kid."  
  
 _I can't?_  
  
Trixie went over to a small jar ,took out some money, and placed it in her purse.  
  
The two of them headed down the street. They passed a hot dog cart, and having not eaten since lunch yesterday (In 1991), Verne's stomach growled. "Mom!"  
  
Trixie stopped and turned her head towards him. "Yeah?"  
  
"I'm starving! Can I get a hot dog? Pleeease?"  
  
"Oh, all right, kid." Trixie said, walking over. "I don't know when you last ate anyway."  
  
She bought two hot dogs and they headed off again. Verne ate his pretty fast, getting ketchup and mustard on his face.  
  
"Kid." Trixie giggled, kneeling to his level. With her thumb she wiped the condiments off his face.  
  
"Heh. Sorry mom."  
  
Trixie just smiled and they went off again.  
  
They entered a small clothing store. Verne looked around and cringed a bit. _She's not really gonna make me wear stuff like_ _ **that**_ _, is she?_

 

Most of these outfits were like full suits or something similar. Some had ties, and some had three layers. Whatever anything looked like, it wasn't Verne's style.  
  
Trixie picked out two outfits for him. One of them was a three piecer with a jacket and tie, much to Verne's dismay. The second outfit was all right. It was a simple red zig zag like design on a white shirt.  
  
"Mooom..." Verne whined. "These clothes are embarrassing!  
  
"I think you'll look adorable in these, kid." Trixie reassured.

  
"I'm gonna look like a dork!" Verne complained.  
  
"Dork?" Trixie asked.  
  
"Yeah, a dork! Besides, I like my clothes." He said.  
  
Trixie bit her lip. "I'll tell you what, kid. We'll stop by the laundromat later so you can wear that tomorrow. All right?"  
  
Verne sighed in defeat. "Okay, mom..."  
  
Trixie bought the two outfits and took him back to the apartment. Verne chose to wear the zig zag shirt since out of the two choices it was the least tacky to him. Despite that, he was still pretty embarrassed about it.  
  
"I was right, you are adorable in it, kid."   
  
"Yeah...Thanks mom." Verne said sarcastically.  
  
The next stop was the laundromat. They'd brought a few of Trixie's clothes to be washed as well.  
  
As she got the machine ready, Verne wandered around, bored. _How did these people have fun without video games?_ He spotted the boxes of powdered soap on each machine and got an idea. He grabbed as many boxes as he could and started stacking them, forming a small town. He towered over it and laughed evilly. “Face the wrath of Vernezilla! Roooooar! Rooooar!” He kicked down the boxes, scattering them all over the floor. Some were dented, and some spilled everywhere. “Roooar! Fear me, Hill Valley!”

 

Everyone looked over at Verne who was now tearing a box in two while letting out a fake roar. A balding man with light black hair, a comb shaped mustache, and thin wiry glasses over his dark blues eyes came over,grabbed Verne by the arm, and hoisted him into the air. “Whose child is this!?”

 

Trixie looked over and when she saw the owner, she panicked. She hurried over.

 

"Is this your kid?" The owner said, a scowl on his face.  
  
"...I'm looking after him."  
  
"Well, you better keep him under control!" He snapped, shoving Verne towards her.  
  
"S-sorry mom."  
  
She sighed. "It's all right,kid, but please don't do that again. The next laundromat is five miles away."  
  
Verne felt guilty. "Sorry, I was just bored."  
  
"We'll do something fun after, okay kid?"

 

"All right." Verne sighed. He followed her back to the machine and watched her put the clothes and soap in before starting the wash. "Are we going now?"  
  
"Not yet, kid. I don't leave my laundry alone in here anymore."  
  
"Why not?" Verne demanded.  
  
"Last time I did, someone took my clothes out and put theirs in." Trixie explained.

 

"Did you wait for them to come back and glock them in the face!?" Verne asked, throwing a fake punch.  
  
Trixie let out a small chuckle. "I'm not much of a fighter, kid. I just went to another machine and waited."  
  
"Oh." Verne said flatly. They stayed silent then, and the boredom fully took over Verne. He grabbed one of the soap boxes and started reading it. "Cla...Cla...Claw...Clari.."  
  
Trixie looked over at the box. "Clarity Soap."  
  
"Oh." Verne said, putting it down on the washer. "I don't like reading, it's hard."  
  
"You can't read?"  
  
"I can read! It's just big words and stuff I don't understand!"  
  
"I could help you, kid." Trixie said.  
  
"I didn't come here to learn to read, I came here to be with you!"  
  
"Aw come on. I have to teach you things, anyway. It'd be risky if we put you in school. They could find out you have connections to Kid Tannen, and...Well, it wouldn't end well, kid."  
  
Verne grumbled. _Great! I finally found my mom and she just wants to teach me stuff!_  
  
"I'll just teach you stuff when I can, kid." Trixie said, picking up the box. "Here, lets keep reading."  
  
Verne grumpily looked at the box. "A Patr..pattri...pat..pati..."  
  
"Patriotic."  
  
"Patriotic." Verne said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Product of The United States."  
  
"Good job,kid!"  
  
Verne looked at the ingredients on the back and his eyes widened.  
  
"Maybe we can skip those ones." Trixie said,putting it back.  
  
Verne didn't want to learn anymore so he quickly asked, "What are you thinking about naming your kid?"  
  
"For a girl I kind of like Myrtle. For a boy I like James."  
  
 _James Tannen. James Tannen. James Tannen._ Verne let the name sink in. This was his name. His real name. James Tannen.  
  
"Uh kid? You're spacing out again."  
  
"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "I do that a lot."  
  
"It's fine, I was just worried about ya." Trixie said.  
  
"So, uh, are you going to put your kid in school?"  
  
"I can't." She said. "That'd be more risky than sending you to school."  
  
"Oh. Um...If someone tried to take your kid, what would you do?"  
  
"I'd never let anyone take my baby!" Trixie said defensively. "If they tried, I'd...what did you say a minute ago?....Glock 'em!"  
  
"Nice, mom!" Verne said. The washer stopped it's shaking as the wash finished.

 

She unloaded the washer and handed half of the load to Verne. He stumbled a bit, trying to regain his footing.  
  
The went to the dryer, put the clothes in and started it. "Can we go now?"  
  
"Not yet,kid."  
  
"What,have people taken your clothes out of the dryer too!?" Verne couldn't tell if he was upset they weren't leaving or if it was because he was mad at the person who did it in the first place.  
  
"No, but I don't want to risk it." She pointed to the words on the dryer. "Can you read that,kid?"  
  
"Per..Per..."  
  
"Perfectly."  
  
"Perfectly Perfect Dryer..Ink..Ink.."  
  
"Incorporated."  
  
"Incorporated."  
  
"Well done, kid!" Trixie said stroking his hair.  
  
Verne laughed,temporarily making him forget his embarrassment. When he did remember he quickly changed the subject, "Mom,why don't you just get your own washing machine."  
  
Trixie laughed. "You're funny,kid."  
  
Verne furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? We had a washing machine where I used to live."  
  
Trixie's eyes widened. "Wow kid, you must be from a wealthy family."  
  
"Not really." He said, shrugging it off.  
  
"Well,that sounds pricey, kid."  
  
 _Uh oh. I need to be more careful_."Well..uh...we knew someone and got it cheap."  
  
"I see." Trixie said. She looked back at dryer.

 

Verne was getting bored again, so he started walking around the laundromat,dragging his hand against the dryers. Most of them were off, but Verne liked touching the ones what were on because of the vibrations.  
Eventually Verne circled the whole place and ended up back next to his mom,who was fixing her hair.  
  
"Is it done yet?" Verne whined.  
  
"Not yet, kid, be patient." She said gently. "I just don't anyone stealing my load."  
  
Verne sighed in boredom and sat down, holding his knees to his chest. _I could be beating my high score at BraveLord and Monstrux right now, but I'm stuck in a laundromat...in the 30s..._  
  
He'd practically dozed off by the time the dryer buzzed,which jolted him awake.  
  
"Have a nice nap?" Trixie teased playfully.

 

"These things are loud!" Verne complained.  
  
As Trixie took the clothes out, Verne grabbed his usual outfit right away. “Mom, please can I wear it today? I hate these dorky 30s clothes!”

 

She sighed a bit. “All right, but you can't wear it tomorrow.”

 

Verne grumbled. It was a sacrifice he was going to have to make. The two of them went back to Trixie's house so he could change.

 

While Trixie was in the other room he sat there on the couch. _There isn't even TV here! Is there anything fun at all in the 30s!?_  
  
A few minutes later his mom came back in. "I've been buying things for the baby, and well...I thought we could use this now, kid." She sat next to him then pulled out a book and handed it over.  
  
"Dick and Jane?" Verne read in disappointment.  
  
"Good job, kid." Trixie complimented. She reached over,opened the cover and started reading it to him,"Dick. See Dick. See Dick run."  
  
Verne yawned. Slowly his eyes fluttered shut.  
  
"Jane. See Jane. See Jane ru-" Trixie stopped when she'd seen he'd fallen asleep. She smiled as she picked him up and placed him in her bed. Gently she placed the covers over him. Verne snuggled deeply into the blankets.  
  
......  
  
"Verne?"  
  
"Mom?" Verne asked groggily.  
  
"You've been sleeping all day." She replied,stroking his forehead.  
  
"I had a weird dream I was adopted and I went back in time to find my real mom."  
  
"Well, you're still in 1930, kid."  
  
"1930!" Verne sat up quickly. He looked over and saw Trixie looking at him, a bit worried. He relaxed when he saw her and hugged tightly. "Oh, mom!"  
  
"Are you okay now, kid?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Verne replied, snuggling into her chest.  
  
"I have to go to the speakeasy to sing. Wanna come?"  
  
"Yeah!" He said, smiling and tightening his grip on her.  
  
Trixie ruffled his hair before gently prying him off.  
  
When they got outside, Trixie grabbed Verne's hand tightly and sneaked around. Sometimes she'd stop and look around cautiously before continuing. Even when they got to the speakeasy, Trixie still seemed a bit tense.  
  
She sat in front of a mirror, fluffing her hair and applying makeup. When she was done she grabbed Verne's hand again and lead him backstage.  
  
"I'll be right back." She whispered.  
  
While waiting for his mom to return, Verne looked out into the speakeasy: People were laughing,clinking glasses together,shooting pool, playing poker, and all kinds of things out there. It made Verne feel a little bit intimidated, seeing all those illegal boozers out there. He froze on one in particular though.  
  
Trixie came back with a bowl of green olives and a cup of cranberry juice, usually used to mix with drinks.  
  
"I know it's not the best dinner, kid, but it's all I can do right now." Trixie said.  
  
"Mom?" Verne asked worriedly. "Is..Is that cop gonna arrest you?"  
  
Trixie looked puzzled for a moment before looking into the abyss of people. She chuckled a bit before putting her hand on his shoulder. "No, Verne, it's fine. He's just here to drink too."  
  
"But, I thought this place was illegal."  
  
"It is. The law doesn't always follow the law,kid." She paused for a moment. “I have to go on stage now, you stay here, okay?”

 

“O-okay.” Verne replied, a bit nervous. He watched as his mother went on stage and approached the microphone. Some of the boozers stopped talking to listen as she began to sing. Verne stopped mid olive-to-mouth when he heard her voice. It was so velvety and smooth. Her music was the best thing he'd ever heard.  
  
 _My mom is awesome!_  
  
Verne couldn't help but hum along. The humming lead to singing under his breath, to singing a little louder, to singing as loud as Trixie, to singing louder than her.  
  
The speakeasy went silent.  
  
Verne had made a huge mistake.  
  
He felt shivers run through his body as the curtain pulled back. He got ready to run if he was in danger, which he figured it would be.

 

“Verne?”

 

“Mom.” He sighed in relief.   
  


“Were you singing?”

 

“Y-yeah…” Verne said, nervously.

  
  


Trixie knelt in front of him. “You have an amazing voice!”

  
  


He relaxed. “T-thanks mom.”

  
  


Trixie thought for a moment. “I’m serious,kid...Verne, you’re good! Do you….want to come on stage with me?”

  
  


Verne’s eyes lit up. “Heck yeah!”

  
  


She grabbed his hand and took him on stage. The eyes were now all on the kid, and he froze. Trixie noticed and frowned. Gently she whispered, “Follow my lead like you were doing backstage,kid.”

  
  


Verne nodded and waited for her to start. When she did it still took him a second before he joined in. Their voices melted together wonderfully.

  
  


The crowd loved it and broke into loud applause and cheers when it was over. Trixie smiled down at him. “Great job,kid!”

  
  


“You’re way cool, mom!”

  
  


“The speakeasy ain’t that warm.” She giggled. She grabbed behind his shoulder and escorted him outside.

  
  


“Trixie!”

  
  


The two looked over and saw Kid Tannen standing there, a scowl on his face. “You told me he’d stay out of the way!”

  
  


In fear, Verne hid behind Trixie and let out small sounds akin to that of a whimper.

  
  


“Kid! H-he’s just a child!” Trixie tried to reason sacredly. She felt Verne hug the back of her legs. “P-please don’t hurt him K-Kid.”

  
“He didn’t stay out of the way!” Kid yelled.

 

Trixie panicked. “K-kid the c-crowd loved him though….d-didn’t you hear them c-clapping?”

  
  


Kid focused his gaze on Verne, who gulped and hid behind his mom even more. He exhaled harshly. “I guess you have a point, tutz. They haven’t clapped this loudly for you in years.” He bit his lip. “You...you wanna perform every night, kid?”

  
  


“S-sure.” Verne squeaked out.

  
  


“All right. Now that, that’s settled get out of here.” He said, although there was a hint of humor in his voice.

  
  


_He’s pretty nice for a Tannen. Maybe he won’t be such a bad dad after all._

  
  


He grabbed Trixie’s hand and sneaked back to her apartment with her.

  
  


“I’ll get your bed set up quick.” Trixie yawned, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands.

  
  


“Um...mom?”

  
  


“Yeah?”

  
  


“Can...Can I sleep with you?” Verne asked. He longed to be close to his mother.

  
  


She smiled at his cuteness. “If that’s what you want, kid.” She scooped him up in her arms and carried him to bed. Once under the covers, Verne snuggled close and fell asleep right away.

  
In her arms he felt safe, He felt happy. He felt like he belonged.

 


	4. Isn't Someone Missing Me

Doc, Clara,Einstein, and Jules nervously paced around their kitchen.

“Does every family have a kid that’s always running away from home?” Doc asked.

“Yes, but most of them stay in the 20th century.” Clara replied.

Jules stopped and faced his parents. “Mother, father, perhaps I could shed some light on Verne’s disappearance.” Doc and Clara looked at him expectantly, but before he could finish, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”

Jules opened the door, and there stood Marty, looking very worried. “Jules! I came here as soon as Doc called!”

“Hello Martin.” Jules greeted, voice also full of worry. “Father is in the kitchen, come on.”

Doc looked up from his pacing. “Marty! Thank you for coming on such short notice!”

 

“No problem, Doc. I’m sure The Pinheads will understand why I missed practice tonight.” Marty replied. Doc sighed sadly. Marty frowned and put his hand on his shoulder in reassurance. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Where have you looked so far? The arcade? The mall?”

“I’m afraid looking there wouldn’t help, Marty.” Doc said, slowly shaking his head. “He took off in The Delorean.”

Marty’s eyes widened. “Whoa, what?! How are we gonna find him?”

“I don’t know..” Doc said, placing his face into his palm.

“Well...Do you think you know why he ran away?”

Doc froze and bit his lip, taking a moment to respond. “Yes...I suppose I do have one theory on why he ran away.” He walked to the corner of the kitchen to avoid eye contact.

“What?”

“....I suppose he was upset when he found out he was adopted.”

“Wait what!? Verne’s adopted?!”

Doc slowly turned to face him. “Yes Marty...Actually he’s your uncle..”

Marty didn’t think his eyes could get any wider. “Doc...what are you…?” He trailed off, unsure exactly what to ask.

“Your grandmother, Sylvia had a child with Kid Tannen, and...and that child was Verne.”

The young adult could barely catch his breathe. How could this be possible!? “Why didn’t you tell m-...anyone?”

“Clara and I decided that it would be best if he didn’t know he was related to such a cruel person…”

“How...how’d he even find out he was adopted?” Marty asked.

“Uh...I may have been the source of Verne’s apprehension..” Jules admitted meekly. 

“Jules Eratosthenes Brown! I’m ashamed of you!” Clara scolded.

“Now your brother is lost somewhere in time with no way for us to find him!” Doc added, just as angry. 

“I-I’m sorry father.” Jules squeaked out. “I-I only meant it as harmless juvenile teasing. I didn’t know he truly was adopted, I swear, father.”

“That’s not the point.” Doc snapped. “The point is he’s missing now and we need to find him.”

Doc, Marty,Einstein,Clara, and Jules headed to the train in a hurry. “We'll try a few dates in 1930 and see if we can find him there first.”

The train accelerated to 88 and traveled back to 1930. Doc took out the disguise camera and used it on them. Marty and Doc's clothes were the same from the last time they were there when they tried to break Doc out of jail. Luckily this was a year before the Carl Sagan incident so Doc could still use it as a disguise. Clara's dress was basically the same, except a bit shorter. Jules had one of those three piece outfits, complete with a tie. 

“So what's the plan,Doc? We go to the speakeasy and grab Verne?”

“Marty, I'm not even positive he found your grandmother. Even if he did...it would be rather difficult to find the speakeasy.”

“You know where it is, don't you?”

“I'm not the one who set it on fire, I was merely blamed for it.”

“Can't we ask Edna?”

“Oh no, Marty, there are several reasons we cannot do that. For one, she may not know where the speakeasy is at this point in time. More importantly though, is that meeting Sonny Crockett and Carl Sagan before 1931 could cause a major time paradox! The events won't play out the way they're  supposed to.  Our only hope is to find Verne out in the open.” He turned to Einstein. “Can you get his scent at all?”

Einstein started sniffing around Hill Valley. After sniffing around a while, he let out a small whimper. Doc pet his head. “Aw, don’t worry Einie, maybe he didn’t go out on this day. We’ll try some more days.”

However, after trying fifteen different days in 1930, the odds of him being there didn’t seem too high. “Perhaps he didn’t come here to seek his birth mother out after all.” He punched in another date. “We'll try a date we've been to before incase he returned there. We just need to be careful not to run into our past selves.”

…............

“The Yankees won't shoot at us will they?” Verne asked, anxiously.

“Usually aim right fir ya'.” His new friend Jimmy replied.

“But we're just kids!”

“War makes ya grow up fast...”

Verne gulped and ran over to the case containing The Delorean, starting to pull on it. “Come on, open up!” He frowned and knelt beside the case sadly. 

The Time Train pulled up,startling Verne. However his emotions quickly changed to relief and happiness as he ran towards the train. “Dad!”

Everyone emerged from the train and circled around Verne. Doc pulled him into a tight hug and Verne started crying. Doc stroked his back and tried to soothe him. “Shh it's okay son...It's okay.”

“I-I'm sorry I ran a-away d-dad.” Verne sniffled.

“It's all right, it's all right.” Doc comforted. “I understand why you did it. It's my fault...”

“So you won't treat me like a baby anymore?”

Doc got a far off look and loosened his grip.

“Dad?”

“......Is that why you ran away?”

“Yeah?” Verne sounded confused.

“Jumpin' Gigawatts! You're not the right Verne!”

“W-what?” Verne furrowed his brows.

Doc didn't pull away as he explained, “I'm not your father...I-I mean in the sense that I'm from the future. I'm looking for my Vernie.”

“O-oh.” Verne whimpered. “C-can you s-still take me with you?”

Doc would be lying if he said that thought didn't cross his mind. He'd thought of just scooping up this Verne and taking him home with him. It would be a fresh start: This Verne would feel safe, he'd never have to learn he's adopted, and they could all stop worrying......

Doc tightened his grip. “Vernie....I can't...”

“Why not?” He whined more into Doc, terrified.

“You're n-not mine..” Doc said. “P-past me needs to f-find you, and I...I have to find my Verne....besides taking you would cause a paradox as my past self would not be able to find you and I'd have no reason to leave without you.”'

“B-but I'm so s-scared..” He sobbed. 

Doc hesitated. No one should know too much about their own future rushed through his head. He looked down at the child,sobbing into him, shaking heavily.

“You'll...you'll be just fine....” Doc reassured, stroking his hair. He leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I love you Vernie.”

“I-I love you too d-dad.” He sniffled.  It took a few moments before Doc could force himself to pull away and head back to The DeLorean with the others.

“Emmett...” Clara said gently, squeezing his arm in comfort.  He started tearing up again.

“I-I'm f-fine C-Clara...We...we need to keep looking.” Doc choked out, entering a new date into the train. He couldn't bring himself to try another date they'd been to before. He didn't want this to happen again.

“When are we father?” Jules asked.

“August 15th 1982, the worst heatwave in the history of Hill Valley.” Doc explained, sounding a bit worn out.

Marty groaned.  “Oh God I remember this day! Doc I really don't think Verne's going to be here, can we please leave?”

 

“We don’t know that for sure Marty.” Doc said. “That’s why we’re checking here.”

Marty frowned at his friend’s tone and nodded slightly, not wanting to make things worse.

“Perhaps we could split up and cover more ground.” Jules suggested. “Besides it will wave away any possible suspicions that could be raised if people saw us together.”

“Brilliant idea offspring!” Doc said. “As far as I remember I didn’t leave my lab this day. I was trying to create a super fan to beat the heat.

“Did it work?” Marty asked.

“Besides the exploding, the small fire, and setting off my carbon monoxide detector...no’

“Perfect, then you won’t run into yourself father.” Jules said. 

They split up into groups, Doc was with Einstein, Clara with Jules, and Marty on his own.

Einstein sniffed the air.

“Anything Einie?” Doc asked.

Einstein shook his head and tried again. Doc frowned and sighed a bit. 

After a while, Einstein started panting. His heavy coat sure wasn’t helping with the blazing sun.

“Come on, let's take a rest.” The two of them sat under a large tree to cool off. Doc scanned the passerbys, hoping to catch sight of Verne, but alas it was hopeless.  
“I wonder if anyone is having any luck….”

………….

Jules couldn’t help but notice the differences between this time and modern day Hill Valley. “Mother, it seems that at one point the Fitness Center was once a cafe. Fascinating!”

“Jules, we don’t have time for sightseeing!” Clara said in exasperation.

Jules frowned. “My apologizes mother.” He paused for a moment. “Perhaps we could check in there. Verne isn’t very good with the heat and if he came here, he’d probably seek shelter in an air conditioned area.”

“Good idea.” They entered the cafe, which was pretty much at it’s full capacity. Despite this, Clara scanned the crowd a few good dozen times. “Darn, he’s not here! Come on, let's go!”

“Mother, before we go, may we get an artificially sweetened carbonated beverage?”

Clara sighed. “I guess so.” 

They approached the counter and Jules cleared his throat, “May I have a carbonated water with High Fructose Corn Syrup,caramel color,sugar,phosphoric acid,caffeine,citric acid, and natural flavors?”

“Uh..?”

“...Pepsi?” Jules tried, He paid for his drink and managed to find a place to sit with his mom.

Clara sighed and rested her head in her hands.

“Don’t fret mother, we’ll find him.” 

“I sure hope so…”

……………..

Marty tied his jacket to his waist. He’d been holding it on his arm, but it made him sweat a lot worse in that area. 

He spotted the Burger King, and his mouth watered at the thought of a nice, cold, diet soda. Who knows, maybe Verne’s in there…..Wow it’s actually a lot hotter than I remember….

Marty slowed down as he felt his head start to hurt. He also felt really warm, and nauseated. Maybe I need to sit down….

That was the last thing Marty remembered before everything went black.

………………

Marty woke up to aggressive licking, laughing at how it felt. As he opened his eyes things were a bit blurry, but he could make out the shape of a dog sitting in front of him. “H-hey there.” He gently patted the dog’s head.

The dog let out a friendly bark, before running into the next room. As soon as his vision became clear, Marty took in his surroundings. His jacket was beside the couch, covered in sweat, he had a wet washcloth on his forehead, and an ice pack on his neck, stomach, and legs. There was a fan on the highest power blowing in his direction. On the table was a cup and a pitcher of water with a few ice cubes bobbing up and down.

Marty still felt exhausted and closed his eyes, until he heard a gentle voice ask, “Are you all right?”

“D-Doc?” Marty asked, opening his eyes lightly.

“Marty?” He asked in surprise. He knelt beside him. “I-is it really you?”

“What do you mean is it really me?” Marty groaned in confusion.

“I mean why are you here?”

“You’re the one who brought me here.”

“No Marty, why are you in this year?”

“You know why we’re here Doc!”

Doc sighed and tried to clear things up. “We haven’t met yet.”

‘What are you talking abou-...Oh!” Marty said in sudden realization, sitting up abruptly.

Doc panicked and gently grabbed his shoulders.”Easy Marty, you have heatstroke. You need to rest and cool down for a while. We’ll discuss this when you’re more aware.”

“All right Doc.” Marty mumbled, already half asleep again. Doc grabbed the glass and gently placed it to Marty’s lips, making him drink the whole thing. He then poured another glass and did the same thing. He removed the cloth from Marty’s head and left the room as Marty started to drift off again.

……………….

When Marty came to again, he felt much better.

“So, why are you here?” Doc asked again.

“We’re looking for someone.” Marty kept it simple,knowing Doc wouldn’t wanna know about things specific to his future. “Blonde hair, blue eyes, raccoon cap, he’s hard to miss. Have you seen him?”  
“No.” Doc replied. “I’m sorry Marty.”

“Oh.” Marty sighed. “Well if you do, can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Write a note with the date and location, and then...you know that old abandoned farm house?”

“Yes. It was Old Man Peabody’s new land after they bought out his old land for the mall...Now it’s just in a sad state.”

“The second wooden step has a crack in it, so stick the note in there, got it?”

“Got it, but why such an odd location?” Doc asked.

“You...You’ll find out Doc, trust me.”

Doc nodded once in understanding, and when he felt Marty was well enough, he sent him off.

…………

The five met up outside of Lou’s Cafe. 

“We should probably head home.” Doc sighed. “We can look more tomorrow.”

When they got back to Doc’s house in 1991, Marty went to the steps. He had a feeling nothing would be there and that asking past Doc for help was useless. However to his surprise there was a yellowed piece of paper, Doc saw it too and grabbed it before Marty could.read it.

He read it quickly, and teared up. He started sobbing and dropped the note as he ran inside.  
“Emmett!” Clara said worriedly, following him.

“Father!” Jules said.

Marty frowned fearing the worse. He gulped and it picked it up.

Dear Marty,

I have found the boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a raccoon cap. He’s my beautiful, perfect baby boy, Verne. Along with Jules and Clara, he is the most important person in my life. I’ll do whatever I can to prevent my little angel from going missing. Thank you for the warning.

Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown


	5. Not Enough Rain in Hill Valley

Trixie and Verne were taking a walk, enjoying the nice warm weather. Verne still hadn't, and probably never would get over the lack of video games, but for now atleast he was having fun. He was still hoping to find a group of kids to play baseball with, or a dance studio to join.

In the meantime he could pretend. Sure it was only fun for a few minutes or so, but what else could he do? So for a moment he imagined the path in front of him was a straight line towards home plate, and it was his final run. He bent onto his knees readying himself as he imagined the pitcher throwing to the batter. The batter hit the ball, and Verne bolt toward, the plate in sight.

That is until he bumped into someone and sent papers flying everywhere.

"Hey! Be more cautious you ruffian!" He froze when he saw Verne looking nervous. The young man had brown hair, and dark brown eyes, and was wearing a bluish-green sweater vest. "M-my apologies,I-I didn't know you were a child."

Verne got up and brushed himself off. "I don't care, you still called me a ruffian! I'm not a ruffian!"

"I'm sorry." The young man apologized again as he got up and started gathering his papers.

Verne helped pick them up and looked at one "What is this junk anyway?"

"Legal documents." He said, taking the paper gently from him.

"Sounds boring." Verne said.

"Actually law is very interesting. There are various laws, and ordinances to read and study." He said, however it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of this as well.

"Verne! Verne!" Trixie panted as she caught up with him "Verne, I can't keep up with ya sometimes, slow down huh." She teased. She looked up at the young man. "Oh, you're the judge's son ain't ya? Emmett Brown?"

Verne felt cold when he heard that name. He stood in front of Trixie as if he was protecting her.

"Yes I am." He said. He noticed Verne and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Stay away from my mom!" He snarled.

Emmett just frowned more,but then froze. "Wait….mom?"

"Yeah! Stay away from my mom!" He repeated.

Trixie crouched down and gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Verne, sweetie, calm down."

"Are you actually his mother?" Emmett asked awkwardly.

"Well uh…" Trixie started, as she straightened herself up. "I've been taking care of him for a while, so...I suppose I am."

Emmett sighed and shook his head. "Miss Trotter, you can't just keep a child you found. There are laws against this. He is a ward of the state as far as the law's concerned."

Verne got angrier. "Well….are there laws against kidnapping huh!?"

Emmett was startled. "Of course there is!"

"Have you ever thought of doing it?" Verne challenged.

"What?! Of course not!" He said, shocked anymore would assume this.

"Oh yeah, you sure!?"

"Verne stop!" Trixie said. Verne frowned and backed down.

Emmett felt uncomfortable and tried to sneak away while Trixie scolded Verne. Verne however noticed Emmett leaving and yelled after him, "You better stay in law, and not try anything stupid like science!"

Emmett felt tears well in his eyes, and ran off.

"Verne!" Trixie yelled, grabbing his arm and nearly dragging him. "You oughta be ashamed of yourself! You can't talk to people like that!"

"But he's not a good guy!" Verne protested.

"Verne, I know the law is against us, but Kid told me Emmett won't cause no harm."

"Riiight…" Verne said, remembering the story Marty had told him about his misadventures in 1931.

Trixie sighed in annoyance. "Come on, let's just get to the speakeasy and get ready."

…

"You were great out there Verne!" Trixie said, putting her arm around him.

"Thanks mom, you too." Verne said, smiling widely.

Trixie yawned. "Come on Verne let's head home."

"All right mom." Verne yawned too.

When the two of them headed back to the apartment and got into bed, Verne snuggled close to Trixie.

"Hey mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't we live with Kid?"

Trixie bit her lip. "Well I uh..it's...it's just...you know, grown up stuff, it can be kinda complicated sometimes."

Verne blinked. "How is that complicated? Why don't we live with him?"

"Listen, let's not talk about this now, okay? I just wanna get some sleep." Trixie yawned. "We need rest for tomorrow's show."

Verne frowned, unhappy by the response but he yawned and fell asleep faster than she did.


End file.
